


Make the Skeleton Dance

by subcircus



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-02
Updated: 2013-09-02
Packaged: 2017-12-25 11:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/952389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subcircus/pseuds/subcircus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is forced to reveal a terrible secret to Danny. The reaction is unexpected and may have consequences that change their lives and their relationship forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Timing is Everything

**Author's Note:**

> This is gen so far but it is leading to Steve/Danny.
> 
> The werewolves in this are loosely based on those in the Underworld movies but with a few significant differences.

They crashed through the undergrowth, Danny running fast and sure of foot; more so than Steve would ever have thought his city bred partner could. But then Steve knew better than most what the human body was capable of doing when adrenaline was coursing through it.

They burst out of the scrub with a good lead on their pursuers but it was a long sprint across open ground to the boatshed that would be their only cover and a safe place to make a stand.

They had followed Tommy Woo, a suspect with ties to a major trafficker named Dominguez, to this small island earlier that day. With no cell reception and no radio in the small boat they had used they had been unable to call in any backup, so Steve decided they should reconnoiter and then return to Oahu. Danny had agreed after much protest that they should just get backup. They'd completed a sweep of the island and were heading to a building they suspected was the bad-guy hideout when they ran into trouble in the form of two dozen armed goons.

Steve and Danny had retreated, but not before both sides had fired off a volley. Steve was pleased that he and Danny took out four; not enough but it helped their odds of survival. They had lost their pursuers in the trees but if they were trained at all - and most mercenaries were ex-military - it wouldn't take them long to work out the two 5-0 detectives' destination.

After a quick but thorough scout of the treeline, they had no chance but to break cover and make a beeline for the boatshed.

By some miracle they made it without a sign of the mercenaries and once inside Steve checked his clip while watching out the door for signs of danger.

"I've got half a clip and a spare," he informed Danny. "How about you?"

When no answer was forthcoming he risked a glance in his partner's direction to find Danny a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Danny!"

He crossed to his partner and checked his vitals then looked for injury, his hand coming away bloody. Danny had been shot twice and from the position of the entry wounds and the ragged breath sounds he probably had a collapsed lung. It was astonishing he'd got this far. Adrenaline was an amazing thing.

Danny was wheezing, trying to speak.

"Get...get away..."

"If you think I'm leaving you here, you're more insane than you think I am," he answered. He was about to berate him some more when there was a stinging sensation in his shoulder.

He'd been stupid, turning his back on the open door and now they were both hit. It was not looking good. Blood trickled down his left arm as he turned to the door and began to return fire. The wound in his arm must have been deeper than he thought, as blood was now running freely from it and it wasn't long before he felt dizzy and then blacked out.

*-*

Steve awoke to find himself in a dimly lit small room, probably a basement as there were no windows and the walls were bare brick. He was shackled to the wall by a chain attached to one wrist. About ten feet across from him he could make out the slumped form of his partner, who appeared to be shackled to the opposite wall, both hands behind his back. Even in the dim light Steve could still see that Danny's shirt was soaked with blood. Steve held his breath to listen and let it out when he heard good breath sounds and a strong, steady heartbeat coming from his partner.

Realising that he shouldn't be able to hear Danny's heart from that distance, Steve checked the arm that had been shot and saw it was almost healed. Blood on his shirt and a scar marring his tattoo were the only evidence he'd been injured at all. Now worried, Steve manoeuvred himself until he had enough slack on the chain to get a look at his watch. The numbers luminesced in a faintly eerie way but it was enough light to make out the date, telling him that it was more than 48 hours since they had left Oahu. He must have been drugged at some point, possibly the bullet that nicked him at the boathouse.

"Danny," he whispered, not wanting to let their captors know he was conscious. 

There was no response, so he tried again, a little louder. Still no response, so he attempted to get close enough to poke his sleeping partner. The chain was too short though.

"Danno!" he said loudly, wincing when his voice echoed,but he was rewarded by a grunt and Danny slowlyraising his head.

"Wha'?" Danny shook his head and looked around him. "Steve? What's going on?"

"We're in big trouble."

"What else is new?" Danny replied with a grin. Steve shook his head.

"We need to get out of here. Now," he said, looking around for a means of escape.

"Well, unless you have a lock pick on you, we have a tiny problem there," Danny answered, moving his hands enough to rattle the chain, confirming Steve's earlier surmise that his partner was also bound to the wall.

Checking his watch again Steve realised that it would be dark soon. This was not good. If he was still in this cell when the moon rose he would very likely kill Danny, or worse. There was only one way out of here in time. He had to tell Danny everything.

"Danny, I've got something important I need to tell you, and I need you to trust me and just shut up until I've finished talking, ok?"

"If you want to confess your undying love for me, this isn't the time, babe," Danny joked, still looking for a possible escape and not at Steve.

"Danno, please," Steve said, the use of that nickname and his tone of voice making Danny pay attention. Taking a deep intake of breath, he continued. "There's no easy way of saying this, so I'll tell you the short version. I was on a mission overseas, it was night, we were ambushed by these... things. My team were ripped apart, only me and a corporal survived, but we were both badly injured. We were taken to hospital then shipped Stateside. The corporal died at Bethesda. I wasn't so lucky. Within a week I was completely healed, and next thing I know I'm moved to a specialist recovery unit. At the next full moon, I changed."

Steve stopped, watching Danny to gauge his reaction. He was sitting more upright, paying close attention and his heart was beating faster.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Danny asked, but from the look on his face Steve could tell he already had guessed. The SOB was going to make him say it.

Steve growled, shocking himself with how close the beast was to the surface. Danny just smirked, the smug bastard, little realising what danger he was in.

"Danny, I'm a werewolf."

The grin slid off Danny's face and he stared at Steve for a second. He sniffed once and then he burst out laughing.

"I'm serious, Danno," he said, glaring at him with the expression he knew Danny called his 'aneurysm face'. 

Danny stopped laughing and looked at him.

"I know you are, that's what's so funny."


	2. Now for the Punchline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains references to violence, including violence against children.

"Danny, I'm a werewolf."

Danny had known where Steve's story was going, but it was ridiculous. Even after Steve's admission, Danny refused to believe it. But he couldn't deny what his nose told him. It was all too ludicrously funny and Danny couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I'm serious, Danno," Steve said, glaring at him with his aneurysm face. Danny managed to regain his composure long enough to answer.

"I know you are, that's what's so funny," he said. "But I've known you two years and you never got furry at the full moon. You get grouchy once a month but I figured that was PMS."

"How can you joke about this, Danny? It's a full moon tonight. I don't want to hurt you," Steve ground out, glancing at his watch again. 

Confused, Danny shook his head. If Steve was bitten in the SEALs, surely he had it under control by now?

"Then don't change, Steve. You don't have to," he said, stating the obvious.

"What do you know? You don't know. The military gave me pills. As long as I take them in the couple of days before full moon, I'm normal, more or less. Without them I'll change and I will kill you."

"You could try to kill me," Danny replied. Wrong thing to say. _Stupid, Williams_ , he admonished himself as Steve growled and launched himself towards him, easily snapping the chain that had tethered him moments earlier.

With his own growl of frustration, Danny snapped his restraints and stood up to catch Steve mid-flight, grabbing him one-handed by the neck and holding him up at arm's length. No mean feat given their height difference. Steve seemed to have all the fight sapped out of him, probably in surprise, and Danny felt the tension leave his body so he gently lowered him and let go.

"I know, dumbass, because I'm a werewolf too."

Steve stood staring at him, mouth gaping like a fish. Danny chuckled and shook his head then checked his earlier wounds. One hadn't healed and was still oozing blood, though luckily the deeper through and through had. He peeled off his bloody shirt and felt the area around the wound.

"Bullet must be lodged in there. Give me a second and then we can work on getting out of here," he muttered to Steve as he dropped his pants. 

He hadn't changed in a while; he'd either been too busy or to tired to run, but the switch was still effortless and fast. In the space of a blink his limbs elongated, his muscles filled out and his face stretched into a muzzle. As his chest cavity altered, the changes pushed out the bullet and it clattered to the floor as the wound began to heal over. Danny took a moment to revel in being taller than Steve and the look of astonishment on his partner's face before he changed back again.

*_*

Steve was still reeling from Danny's revelation when his partner shocked him further by stripping and changing right there, seemingly on purpose to push out a bullet that had lodged in his chest before changing back again a moment later.

"How did you do that?" Steve asked. 

"You really don't know?" Danny replied. Steve shook his head.

"I only changed that first time, I've taken my meds ever since."

"Oh, babe, you don't know what you're missing out on," Danny replied, his sympathetic tone making Steve angry again. He always did have trouble with his temper at full moon, even with the meds.

"What the hell are you talking about? You actually enjoy letting that thing out?" he ground out.

"It's not like the first time. The pain makes you wacky, aggressive, but after that it's as easy as clicking your fingers and you're still you," Danny explained with a shake of his head and then he changed again.

This was the first time Steve had ever seen another up close since he'd been attacked, and that had been dark and the heat of battle. Transformed, Danny was well over seven feet tall. His head was only inches from the low ceiling, and Steve had a feeling he was crouching. His muzzle wasn't as long as a true wolf, more leonine, and his dark skin was covered in fine, black fur.

Despite knowing it was his partner and believing what Danny had just told him, Steve took a step backward and let out an involuntary growl. He could feel his teeth elongate against his tongue and his vision shifted toward the infrared end of the spectrum, the way it had before his first full moon. 

Danny shifted back and held up a placatory hand.

"Calm down, Steve. I was just showing you, there's no need for you to shift. We need to get of here. Once we're home and this crappy case is behind us, then I can teach you to control it."

"I was starting to...

"Well, the black eyes are a bit of a clue," Danny replied, his smug grin firmly back in place as he pulled his clothes back on. He clapped Steve on the arm. "C'mon, we should be able to get out of here without a problem." 

He nodded in the direction of the single door to the room before cocking his head, presumably listening. Doing the same, Steve could hear talking and heartbeats nearby, but above them. Looked like his guess about this being a basement were correct. 

Danny also started to sniff the air. When his expression darkened, Steve scented the air too.

"No, Steve, don't..." Danny warned, but it was too late.

Blood. Human, and the air was thick with the scent of it. It made him hungry, but mostly it made him angry. Before he knew what was happening, he had shifted. Danny was right, it hadn't hurt this time and he was still in control, but he was furious and ready to rip someone's throat out.

*-*

As soon as he smelled the blood, Danny knew what it was. They'd suspected the guy they were looking for was trafficking humans and now it would seem he had disposed of any evidence. Obviously their presence on the island had spooked him.

Next to him, Steve sniffed the air before Danny could stop him; the smell of blood pushed him over the edge and he changed. Knowing how violent Steve could be as a human, Danny didn't dare think what wolf Steve was capable of. He knew his best hope of stopping him from doing something stupid would be to change too, so he did.

_Steve can you hear me?_ It had been some time since he'd been with another werewolf, but communicating with another was instinct.

_Danny?_ Steve turned to him and sniffed him, curious. Danny rolled his eyes. 

_Yes. Escape now, explain later, yes?_

__Steve nodded. They headed out the door, Danny taking point down a long corridor towards stairs up. The ceilings were too low for them to walk properly, but they could manage crouched. They kept track of the voices above as they moved through the basement but there was no danger from that quarter. They passed several doors on the way to the stairs, but at the last Danny paused. He cautiously opened it; the smell of blood was strongest here. Inside were the bodies of a dozen girls, the youngest about the same age as Grace. When he saw them his blood ran cold._ _

_One thing Steve._

_What?_

_When you rip their throats out, make sure you kill them; we can't risk turning them,_ he replied before letting out a blood-curdling snarl. 

Steve pulled his lips into what may have been a snarl or a grin before heading upstairs. 


	3. Another Fine Mess

When dawn came, Steve and Danny were the only two left alive on the island. Some had got to the boats and escaped uninjured, but nearly three dozen men and women lay dead in and around the compound. Feeling slightly disgusted with himself, though mostly for letting his temper get the better of him, Danny headed down to the beach to wash the blood off. As he emerged from the surf he spotted Steve coming from the house carrying a pile of clothes.

"Found these, looked like your size," he said, passing Danny similar black cargo pants and T-shirt to those he was wearing.

"Guess even bad guys have to do laundry," Danny said and pulled them on. There was really no point trying to wear their original clothes - not only were they covered in blood, but they would have been shredded by their transformation. "How remote is this island?"

"Not remote enough, what should we do with the bodies?"

_The paperwork on this would be a bitch,_ Danny thought as they headed up the beach back to the house.

"Not even funny, Danny, we should burn the bad guys bodies, then come back for the girls officially, right?"

Danny stopped and grabbed Steve's arm.

"Ok, one, I only thought the joke about paperwork never said it aloud, and two, why the hell are you asking me what to do next?" he asked, staring at Steve. After a moment, Steve broke eye contact, dropping his gaze and tilting his head to expose his neck to Danny. "Oh hell, no, I am not your alpha you dumb, crazy bastard! We're partners, equals."

"Pack can't have two alphas, Danno," Steve replied.

"Pack? Steve, did you bond with me? For cryin' out lou... Let's just clean up this mess and get back to Oahu before we try to sort out that mess."

*_*

It turned out being a werewolf had its advantages, preternatural strength and speed being two that made light work of piling the bodies in a clearing far enough from the compound that it wouldn't be found when they returned for the girls. They added their clothes and any other evidence of their activity the previous night. Steve found a can of gasoline in the boatshed and a lighter in a dead mercenary's pocket and within a few hours they lit the pyre. It would probably take days for the fire to burn the bodies completely, but all they really needed was to ensure even Max couldn't determine cause of death. They watched for a while to make sure the fire wouldn't catch and run wild across the island, but Steve was confident the pit he'd dug before they piled the bodies up would contain it.

"Tommy Woo wasn't among the dead, Steve," Danny commented.

"I know. Neither was Dominguez. We'll get them both, Danny," he replied. Danny nodded his agreement.

Eventually they headed to the dock where they left the boat, only to find it gone, presumably taken by one of those that had escaped the night before. They stood on the shore, staring out at the expanse of water between them and home.

"Oh this just gets better and better," Danny griped. "Looks like we're swimming back then."

"Swimming?" Steve asked, incredulous.

"You got a better idea? I forgot who I was talking to. Please, illuminate me with your brilliant plan to build a raft, super SEAL," Danny snarked, making Steve grin. This at least was familiar and after a night of really weird shit happening Steve could really use familiar.

"You told me you hate the water. Was that story bullshit?"

"No, Steven, that was not bullshit, it was a deeply private story of personal tragedy that I chose to share with you, my partner. But, Mr Sensitivity, my fear of the water was somewhat diminished since I could now eat a shark for breakfast and I can't die," Danny snapped back. 

Steve grabbed him by the arm and turned him to face him.

"Can't die?"

"Did nobody tell you, Steve? The way you always run around acting like a lunatic... You mean you did all that dumb stuff and you didn't know? Babe, we're kind of immortal."

*-*

It was a long swim back to Oahu so, when he wasn't watching out for sharks, Danny used their telepathic link to explain some of the details of being a werewolf to Steve. He kept it very generic; this was not the time for his own origin story as Steve needed the basic facts and instruction manual first.

He explained that they were practically immortal as only silver, beheading or the total destruction of their body by fire or explosives would put them down. They wouldn't get any older, the one thing Danny hated about being a lycan as it meant that one day he would have to leave Gracie. The other thing that wasn't so great was the need for human blood. Although they could still enjoy human food it didn't nourish them and animal blood would sustain them for a while but unfortunately human blood was a necessity. Danny got by on a pint every month, just after the full moon, but if he had any less than that he would get sick and weak. He'd been told that blood starvation wouldn't cause a werewolf to die, it would put them in a comatose state where they would be aware but unable to move. If a pint of blood prevented that living hell then Danny would drink it. If he was injured he needed more to help heal. Pig blood only got you so far. In fact, he was amazed Steve had survived so long without blood. Must have been something in the pills he took.

Danny also explained what he had been taught about pack dynamics, how to change whenever you wanted and to ignore the pull of the full moon. He had only spent time with two werewolves and his encounter with the one that turned him had lasted maybe ten minutes, tops. The one that had taught him had shown him how to communicate in wolf form, but they had never been able to communicate the same way when human. From everything he knew, that he and Steve could communicate silently all the time meant that they had bonded as a pack. Not a big problem as Danny regarded Steve as family now anyway, but it might lead to headaches later on.

Steve was remarkably silent, only occasionally acknowledging that he could still hear what Danny was thinking at him. Danny figured he was just processing it all in his usual stoic, super secret squirrel SEAL way.

Once back on dry land, Steve was all business, heading to the nearest phone to contact Chin and organise their return to the compound. Once the rest of Five-0 arrived dockside it was clear Chin and Kono had questions, least of which was probably how the two of them were able to swim the thirty miles from the island, but they kept them to themselves. They were used to Danny and Steve's unorthodox approach now.


	4. Lessons

They returned to the island with the HPD SWAT team within two hours. Danny felt bad about wasting police resources but they had to keep their cover story intact and act like they thought the bad guys were still there. They swept the compound, the HPD squad finding the room where the girls were and Danny didn't require much acting to show the appropriate response to that tragedy. The anger he had felt the night before still bubbled beneath the surface. 

There had been a close call when Steve first smelled all the blood again, his eyes momentarily turning black, but luckily only Danny was in the room at the time and he was able to calm him down before anyone else saw.

It took the rest of the day to organise the crime scene and transportation for the girls' remains back to Oahu. They finally got back to the palace sometime after dusk and Steve headed straight for the driver's side of Danny's car.

_So much for being Alpha_ , Danny thought with a smirk as he followed Steve to the car.

"Full moon again tonight. We either find a spot where we won't be seen or you show me how to resist it,"Steve said once they were in the car.

"You are just about stubborn enough to learn in the hour before moonrise, but we should go into the jungle just in case you don't. I usually head to whichever state park is closest; stay away from the camps and main trails and it's fine," Danny answered.

Steve started the car and headed for the closest stretch of forest. They drove in silence for a while.

"You could eat a shark for breakfast? Seriously?!"

Danny laughed, it was good to hear Steve sound so normal.

"I may have exaggerated a little, but we're certainly as bad-ass as a shark, even in water."

"All this time, we never even guessed..." Steve trailed off, thoughtful, but still a small smile on his face, which grew thoughtful and then turned to aneurysm face. "Your knee!"

"What about my knee?" Danny was genuinely confused.

"When we chased down Hesse that first time, you got injured. You were on crutches for weeks!"

"I couldn't have miraculously got better, could I? Be serious, Steve!" Danny defended himself.

"You could have pretended the injury wasn't that serious to start, instead of bitching at me at every opportunity," Steve snapped back, taking his eyes off the road to glower at him.

Danny had the good grace to be embarrassed by that.

"We'll I didn't, ok? I was pissed at you and it seemed like a good way to get a few shots in."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Steve started chuckling. Danny smiled and then joined in.

"How'd it happen?" Steve asked as the laughter naturally ended.

Danny sighed. He would prefer to keep that period of his life in the past; he'd not been at his best. But Steve deserved to hear the story.

"It happened when I was back in Jersey."

*-*

_New Jersey 2006_

It had been a good day. Danny had got to spend some quality play time with his little monkey before his shift, then they had finally nailed a scumbag named Michael O'Neill for the rape and murder of his own girlfriend. He'd had a quick drink with his fellow detectives to celebrate and was now headed home to kiss Gracie goodnight and, if his luck held, make love to Rachel. All ticks in the win column that made for an excellent day in Danny's book.

He was only two blocks from home when his day, and the rest of his life, went to hell. As he passed by an alley he heard a muffled cry from the other end. Drawing his weapon, he approached cautiously, finding nothing until he reached the far end. There he found a young man lying on the floor. He checked the rest of the alley quickly and then, satisfied the assailant was gone, he kneeled down and checked for a pulse. Finding none, he sighed and placed his gun in his holster before reaching for his cellphone.

He heard movement behind him and a low growl and then, before he could even react, something incredibly strong grabbed him roughly by the arms and jerked him backwards. He felt a weapon that seemed like a set of sharp teeth tear into his shoulder. He had been shot once, but that pain was nothing like the incredible agony he was in at that moment. Suddenly flashing lights filled the alley, followed by the brief wail of a siren.

"Thank God," Danny thought before he blacked out.

*-*

"Next thing, I woke up in hospital. The wolf that bit me ran when the cavalry arrived. Probably thought it wasn't worth the effort. I was discharged the same day, and I'd healed up in a few days. Thought it was weird, but I figured my injuries weren't as serious as I thought," Danny explained. 

Steve nodded in sympathy; he'd had a similar experience up until the medics at Bethesda recognised his symptoms. They had arrived at a deserted parking lot and parked as Danny finished his story and they now got out and headed into the trees.

"When did you know?" Steve asked as they walked.

"My temper was off the scale afterwards. I.... What I did..." Danny stammered, his cheeks flushing. "I never touched Rachel! But I beat on a few suspects, and I yelled. A lot."

"That's why you split?" Steve asked. Danny nodded.

"Just before the first moon, I moved into a hotel. She'd had enough of the screaming matches, and we were keeping Grace from sleeping, but I was scared of what I might do, I think. I'm just glad that first change wasn't in our home. What I might have done...." Danny trailed off and shook his head. "The next morning, I knew. Didn't believe, but I knew. After that I started tracking the full moon and headed off to an abandon warehouse to change. I pushed everyone away. I don't blame Rachel. Stan was there for her when I was being a bastard."

"And when did you learn to control it?" Steve asked, as much to move onto a different subject as genuine interest.

"Another time, Steve. Tonight is about you. Look, moon's staring to rise," he replied, indicating the horizon. 

Steve could feel a tug on his insides as he looked and he let out a growl.

"So, what do I do?" he said.

Danny stood facing him and held up his hands as he often did when he talked, though in this instance the gesture looked to Steve like one of supplication.

"Ok, babe, this is about focus. You need to ignore the pull, focus on who you are. Think about what it means to be Steve McGarett, both mentally and physically and hold on to it. Last night we both let the animal out. Tonight that side needs to stay subdued by the human side," Danny explained.

"And the opposite is true for making the change on purpose?" Steve surmised. Danny grinned and laid a hand on Steve's upper arm.

"Exactly. But I'd take your clothes off just in case."

Danny's hand was warmer than a normal human and Steve wondered how he never noticed that detail before. He also wondered why right at this minute he wanted to tear Danny's clothes off instead of his own and claim him as his own. But he couldn't chase that thought any further as he felt his teeth start to elongate. 

He concentrated, trying to do as Danny said and think about what made him the man he was. He could feel the pull of the moon like a tangible and literal tug on his insides, an opposing will trying to make him change. He fought it with every shred of his own stubborn determination, but it wasn't enough. After a few minutes he fell to the ground, panting hard and then he felt the change and his perception shifted as he transformed with a whimper. 

He clambered to his feet and let out a growl of frustration. 

_Don't worry about it, Babe. You lasted longer than I did my first attempt,_ Danny broadcast as he removed his own clothes and changed. _Besides, after last night I could use the run._

Steve watched with a twinge of envy as Danny shifted effortlessly in front of him. There was also a twinge slightly lower down as he briefly saw Danny's naked and shapely ass. And he was suddenly very grateful that in their wolf form they didn't appear to have genitalia (a fact he otherwise found deeply disturbing).

If Danny detected his thoughts he didn't show it. He came close to Steve and nuzzled his shoulder, marking him as his, and Steve returned the gesture before baring his neck in submission. Danny let out a snorted huff of breath and took a step back.

_Partners, Steve. No matter what form,_ he admonished. In his head, Steve agreed, but there were those pesky wolf instincts that wouldn't be denied. Danny was the more experienced wolf and was clearly faster than Steve so he was obviously Alpha. Why couldn't Danny accept that?

He was about to try and explain that when he caught a scent on the breeze.

_Boar?_

_Smells like. Come on, lets hunt._


	5. Curiouser

The following morning they drove to Steve's house to clean up. It was the weekend and he didn't have Grace so Danny just hung around, not wanting to leave Steve alone yet. In fact, when the SEAL was taking too long in the bathroom he went to find out why. Not even thinking twice, he barged in to Steve's room without knocking and Steve didn't call him out for it. 

Steve was looking under his bed.

"What are you looking for?"

"My pills," Steve replied, pulling the bottle in question from behind the leg of the bed.

"You're gonna keep taking them? Even after all this?"

"I'm glad I don't have to be afraid of losing control, but, Danny, I just want to be normal."

Danny glared at the offending pills and something on the label caught his eye. Snatching the pills from Steve before he could take one, Danny took a better look at the contents.

"Steve, there's silver in these!"

"So? Low levels of silver are good for the body," Steve replied defensively and grabbed for the bottle but Danny pulled it away.

"Not for us, dumbass! You've been slowly poisoning yourself! Remember, werewolf 101? Silver, beheading and fire - only three ways to kill us! You idiot! Haven't you ever watched a horror movie?" Danny knew he was ranting but he didn't care. How could Steve be so stupid?

"This is what they gave me. They must have thought they were safe. I figured the silver thing was just a myth," Steve said defensively, but not with the aggression he normally put in their arguments. Looked like he still saw Danny as Alpha and in this instance he was more than happy to use it.

"Well it isn't. If you'd kept taking these it would eventually kill you. You're going to need blood to flush this crap out of your system and we're flushing these down the toilet right now," he stated and marched to the bathroom before Steve could object and tipped the pills down the drain.

When Steve didn't even offer token protest, Danny huffed in frustration.

"Will you please quit it with this alpha crap? This submissive thing is freaking me out!"

"Give me a few days to adjust Danno, I'm sure we'll get back to normal soon enough," Steve replied, bowing his head in submission. Danny threw his hands in the air in despair and went back downstairs, followed shortly by Steve. 

Steve went straight for the refrigerator, grabbed them both beers and headed out to the lenai, so Danny followed and they both took their customary seats and, after Steve passed him a beer, they sat watching the ocean in silence.

A little later, they went to visit Max.

"Why are we here?" Steve asked as they walked from the car to Max's porch.

"I want you to get some blood and I need to stock up too."

"Max is your supplier?" Steve said incredulous and Danny chuckled. Max did seem the most unlikely person for this if you didn't know what Danny knew. He didn't answer Steve, just smiled enigmatically and knocked on the door.

Max opened it with his usual big grin.

"That time of the month again.... Oh, Commander McGarrett, I didn't see you there. Is this visit official police business?" he said, looking from one to the other for confirmation. 

Danny smiled wider and clapped a hand on Max's shoulder before pushing past him to go inside.

"Relax, Max, Steve's in the club" he explained as Steve followed him in and Max shut the door.

Puzzled, Max raised his glasses and took a good look at Steve.

"Most intriguing. Though I did warn you it was only a matter of time."

"He was turned years ago smart-ass," Danny replied, grin getting bigger and smug. He knew he shouldn't, but this was too much fun.

"But how did we never know?" Max asked, surprise and curiosity evident on his face.

"Wait... Max is a werewolf too?" Steve asked, causing Danny to burst out laughing. Max looked as affronted as if one of them had badmouthed one of precious sci-fi shows, which Danny found even more hilarious.

"I most certainly am not. I'm a vampire."


	6. And Curiouser

If Steve's antics had been insane before, they were unbearable now. Danny knew it couldn't kill either of them but still his heart was in his throat every time his partner pulled a crazy-ass stunt like leaping onto moving vehicles or across rooftops. He was just glad he hadn't witnessed him leaping out of a hospital window or he might have shot him just to keep him off duty for a few weeks.

He kept telling him to reign it in, to not do anything a human couldn't, but Steve loved the chase, to the point that it overrode his common sense. Not that he had much of that to start with. He almost wished Steve was still taking his meds, but who knew what the long term effects of silver in his blood were. Danny only knew it couldn't be good.

That thought led to more questions, questions that he shielded from Steve to protect him and his belief in his precious military. Danny had never been a conspiracy nut, and he wasn't anti-military, but he couldn't help wondering if they knew exactly how toxic silver was to lycans and if that was the plan all along. If they didn't know the change could be controlled, perhaps they thought it better to euthanise the 'victims'. A slow poisoning that wouldn't show up in autopsy and could be written off as Gulf War syndrome or some other illness that only affects veterans. Worse yet, perhaps they did know but Steve had failed some kind of test so they didn't want him. And wasn't the idea of a crack squad of werewolf black beret types just terrifying? It certainly made Danny shiver.

Best thing they could do would be to carry on as normal, Steve pretending to take his meds. Eventually they would need to fake their deaths and move on to avoid suspicion, but Danny had accepted that inevitability a long time ago anyway. Hopefully nobody would come looking to see why Steve hadn't died of silver poisoning and if they did...well they'd regret stepping foot on their island.

Their island. When had he started thinking like that; like it was their territory? Probably since he found out about Steve but he suspects it may have been before that. Like it or not they may have been subconsciously forming a pack long before either even knew about the other being a werewolf. Whatever that meant, Danny was determined that nothing would change between them.

*_*

It was a gradual thing, cementing the pack. At first they tried to go back to normal. Hell, they had always spent most days together anyway, but now Danny found himself at Steve's house more often than not. They'd have a beer, watch the game or a movie, and Danny would end up falling asleep on the couch. And those days they did go to their separate homes, Steve would invariably end up knocking on Danny's door sometime around midnight.

The next full moon Danny helped Steve to fight the change and they stayed up all night watching old cowboy movies on TCM and drinking beer. Within a week Steve was happily changing of his own free will. Danny was slightly concerned he'd unleashed something but mostly he was happy Steve was over his self-loathing lycan-phobia.

It was a few days before the third full moon that Steve crawled into bed next to him.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Steven?" Danny ground out in the calmly polite tone he used to try and cover internal fury.

"Your couch is too small, Danno," Steve replied, either not hearing or ignoring Danny's tone. He remained laying face down, the pillow muffling his words.

"Then go home."

"Nuh-uh," Steve grumbled and this time he did move; he rolled closer to Danny, onto his side, and planted an arm across Danny's chest. Danny pushed it off.

"What the hell?! Get out of my bed!" Danny was growling by now and he shoved Steve, hard, sending his partner flying across the room to hit the wall, taking a chunk out of the plaster. "And now I've lost my deposit. Thank you very much Steven," Danny continued, winding up to one of his patented rants. He got out of bed and waved his hand in the direction of the offending wall. "Enough. You keep coming over in the middle of the night, I'm ok with that; I get the need for pack. But this? This is..."

Danny trailed off when he realised that Steve wasn't trying to argue back. In fact, he hadn't moved at all and for a moment he thought he'd injured him. Then he realised he was crouched in the corner. Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, six-one and one hundred and seventy pounds of pure Navy SEAL badass, was cowering in a corner. From Danny.

Danny went over to kneel beside him and reached out to place a hand on his arm but Steve _flinched_. Danny withdrew his hand and left it hovering a few inches from Steve, uncertain what to do next.

"Steve..." he said gently. 

Slowly Steve unfurled himself and looked towards Danny, but he kept his gaze lowered, his posture submissive. Danny let out a huff of breath and gently and slowly placed his hand on Steve's shoulder. This time he let him. 

"Steve, I'm not your alpha. I know your instincts are all new and confused, but nothing needs to change. We're partners," he said and used his other hand to lift Steve's chin until their eyes met. Steve tried to pull away but Danny wouldn't let him. Then Danny looked away, hoping that if his words wouldn't get through then the submissive gesture would. 

He heard a sharp intake of breath from Steve so he met his eyes again. This time Steve stared back, not trying to flinch or pull away. Looked like the message had finally gotten through his partner’s thick skull. 

They continued to look at each other for what seemed like a really long time to Danny, but was probably only a matter of seconds. Then Danny found himself leaning in towards Steve and Steve was moving closer and tilting his head to the left. 

_Are we...? What the...?_ a tiny panicked voice in the back of Danny’s head thought, but Danny’s body seemed in complete control as his lips met Steve’s in a kiss. 

It was sweet and tender and Steve's lips were softer than Danny might have thought, not that he'd given it any thought. But here he was, kissing Steve. And Steve was kissing him right back. And it was kinda awesome. 

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from a George Bernard Shaw quote: "If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance."


End file.
